1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device which aids the user in the ingress and egress from objects which may be moving, especially on the surface of a body of water, and, more particularly, to a safety device which may be used as a ladder and as a flotation device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Boats have generally been difficult to board by a person immersed in the water by the side of the boat. Several devices have been employed. One such is a tethered life saver float. The device may be thrown near the person to grab and hang onto while being hauled near the side of the boat. However, this device does not aid in helping the person out of the water and onto the boat. The person in the water may hold onto the device but the person on board has the arduous task of hauling the person and the device on board by pulling up on the tether, a very difficult task. Even if the person on board ties off the tether, the person in the water must lift himself out of the water by climbing up the smooth, wet, and usually thin rope.
Several types of platforms and ladders have been employed for this final stage. Some ladders are solid and hang or are fixed to the side of the boat. A platform may also be fixed to the outside of the boat to assist a person with scuba gear to lift up out of the water and then climb into the boat. However, these devices appear as cheese cutters to a person in the water if even moderate wave action is causing the boat to heave.
Other soft devices such as a rope ladder have been used to overcome the threat of injury from a flaying solid ladder. These rope ladders have proven to be difficult to use and introduce their own safety hazard to the user. The flexibility of the rope ladder allows it to conform to the side of the boat, which when used results in the pressing of the horizontal steps up against the boat making it difficult or impossible to obtain a secure hand and foot hold. Further, the lateral instability of the rope ladder makes it difficult to use, especially for a tired or panic stricken victim.
Several devices such as U.S. Pat. No. 65,901 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,263,824 teach life saving rafts which may be assembled, and thrown overboard to assist a victim. However, as with the life saver, once the device and victim are broadside, the solution of the problem of assisting the victim from the water onto the boat is not solved.
Thus, there has long been a need for an arrangement to assist a person in safely boarding a boat from the water.
It is desired that this device be easy to store, easy to use at a moments notice.
It is further desired that the device not itself present a safety hazard to the user.
It is yet further desired that the device, when attached to the outside of the boat and used as a ladder, not conform to the side of the boat so that the device allows usable hand and foot holds.
It is yet another desire that the device provide lateral stability yet be assembled from elements which withstand the riggers of the elements present on board a boat.